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Maxon launches short term licences for Cinema 4D

Maxon has launched new three and six-month short-term licences for Cinema 4D alongside its perpetual software licences: a move it first trailed on its blog in January.

The new short-term options are available for both node-locked and floating licences, but only for the top-of-the-range Studio edition of the software.

‘Not a monthly subscription’, says Maxon
Although its original blog post specifically discussed subscription-based licensing, Maxon’s FAQ document goes to some pains to distinguish the new short-term licences from a monthly subscription.

To some extent, that’s just semantic: these are still rental-only options, in the sense that you can only use the software as long as you keep paying money, but you do so quarterly or half-yearly rather than monthly.

However, the payment doesn’t auto-renew; and unlike standard subscriptions models, you don’t qualify for upgrades or support (beyond the “same installation support as perpetual licences”) during the rental period.

So how much does a short-term licence cost?
A three-month Cinema 4D licence costs $600, and a six-month licence costs $1,100.

In its FAQs, Maxon comments that it “remains committed to offering perpetual licenses” and that short-term licences can be upgraded to perpetual ones at a discount – although the page doesn’t list upgrade prices.